Temporary 2+

DailyMTG: Sealed Deck Builder!

2013-04-04T01:01:00.001-07:00

Well, it has been a while, but anyway... I've become increasingly interested in Sealed and Draft, so for the fun of it, and to test out my deck-building skills, I tried out the Sealed Deck Builder on Daily MTG.

Here's what I came up with:
Land (18)
9 Mountain
9 Plains

Creatures (16)
1 Angelic Skirmisher
2 Court Street Denizen
3 Daring Skyjek
2 Ember Beast
1 Firefist Striker
1 Foundry Street Denizen
1 Nav Squad Commandos
1 Skinbrand Goblin
1 Skyknight Legionnaire
1 Spark Trooper
1 Towering Thunderfist
1 Wojek Halberdiers

Other Spells (6)
1 Act of Treason
1 Angelic Edict
1 Holy Mantle
1 Madcap Skills
1 Mugging
1 Skullcrack

I like this card more than I probably should...

As far as I could see, Black was absolute junk, and Blue didn't fare a whole lot better in general. I was sold on White and Red as soon as I saw Angelic Skirmisher, Wojek Halbediers and Spark Trooper all in there, not to mention all the other Battalion guys and generally good cards.

I'm a bit disappointed in the lack of one-drops, but then there wasn't really any in the entire pool except Experiment One and Spire Tracer (and Foundry Street Denizen, both of which are decent enough (in fact, I run Experiment One as a 4-of in my Constructed deck...), but not worth messing around with the mana base for, especially with only one dual land available in the right colours (and one that enters tapped at that). Besides, it's 2 cards and if I don't get them first turn, along with a Forest, they're a complete waste, and that also shuts down any chances of a turn 2 Wojek Halberdiers, so I decided splashing for green just wasn't worth it, not even for the other RG cards available. Not when there were so many good cards in just White and Red, anyway.

So I'm interested in hearing your thoughts. I'm pretty new to building Sealed decks honestly. The last time (and first) I did it was at the Gatecrash Pre-release, but I'm getting there. Feel free to post up your results in the comments as well!

Golgari Aggro

2013-03-16T18:03:00.000-07:00

It has been a little while since I last posted anything about Magic, but since my last post I've made a few steps forward in terms of knowing what's good and what's not, and I've moved away from trying to run a BUG deck and right now I've just been focussing on a BG Aggro deck. I prefer to call it "Golgari Aggro" personally. Others like "Kibler's BG Aggro", but naming after one (albeit quite famous) guy that did well with the deck, even though it was around before him, doesn't seem very fitting to me. Then over on MTG Salvation they've been calling it "The Plague", and that's fair enough, but I reckon "Golgari" is a pretty sweet name, and if we can have "Bant Control", "Jund Midrange" or "Naya Humans" then why can't we have "Golgari Aggro"?

Anyway, names aren't too importat I guess. What matters is that it's all the same thing really, and it all works the same.

The Loltroll

The decklist below is made of cards that I currently own. There are still a few cards that I need, and I'll run through those later too, but even without them I'm very happy with the deck.

Golgari Aggro
Land (22)
8x Forest
4x Golgari Guildgate
4x Overgrown Tomb
2x Swamp
4x Woodland Cemetery

Creatures (26)
4x Arbor Elf
3x Deadbridge Goliath
1x Deathrite Shaman
4x Dreg Mangler
4x Experiment One
4x Lotleth Troll
4x Strangleroot Geist
2x Wolfir Avenger

Instants and Sorceries (8)
2x Abrupt Decay
2x Increasing Savagery
2x Tragic Slip
2x Ultimate Price

Other Spells (4)
4x Rancor

Sideboard (15)
2x Dryad Militant
3x Duress
2x Golgari Charm
1x Ground Seal
1x Murder
1x Pithing Needle
2x Silklash Spider
3x Vampire Nighthawk

The main point of the deck is to set up an aggro, but very resilient creature base. Against other aggro decks this gives you the opportunity to either race or play a little more like a control deck, using your creatures to block but not losing any of them mostly thanks to Regenerate/being bigger than most aggro decks can handle, as well as having a bunch more removal than your standard RDW deck. After you take control of the board, creatures like the Lotleth Troll can cause some serious problems and you can usually beat them down in a couple of turns. Against control decks, the deck can come swinging quite easily early game but has a dangerous late-game too, and cards like Supreme Verdict really are quite sub-par against this kind of a deck. Control decks usually just can't handle such a resilient board.

The mana base is still being tweeked a little. I'm mostly trying to work out whether I need the swamps or not and how many Guildgates I should be running. Right now I'm quite happy with the Guildgates, they haven't caused me any issues thus far and it's another dual-land, which is really helpful. The only reason I'm running any swamps at all is because of the Nighthawks and Murder in the sideboard, which both have double-black casting costs.

The creatures, as mentioned, are mostly chosen because of their resilience. The only exceptions to this are those that bring major utility to the deck, like Arbor Elf and Deathrite Shaman. Those that aren't resilient and that have no utility in this deck have the added benefit of being useful in the graveyard because of Scavenge, which is an incredibly powerful and relevant late-game mechanic.

Of the creatures, I've been extremely impressed with all of them except Wolfir Avenger. Sure, he has Regenerate which is what this deck wants, but that's about it. Flash is hardly very useful on him and generally the best that happens is that I Flash him in at the end of my opponent's turn, swing next turn for 3 and then feel obliged to leave 2 mana open so I can Regen him. He's only still in the deck because I have nothing better to do with those slots.

I still need to get myself 4x Predator Ooze, who really is the main creature card in this deck. It's almost impossible to remove, and it doesn't even require mana left open for it. The Avengers will be cut when I get the Oozes, and I'll have to find a couple of other cards to drop too. I also wouldn't mind another Deathrite Shaman or two, and I'm still thinking on Ulvenwald Tracker as a 2-of.

The spells are mostly about the removal. Black has access to some of the best removal around and Abrupt Decay is, in my opinion, the best removal in standard. Rancor is an obvious inclusion. It provides evasion and better swinging potential. Increasing Savagery is just something I'm trying out in the deck. Its Flashback makes it incredible if the game drags on or you get mana flooded and it's basically a Deadbridge Goliath with haste. I'm not 100% on it though, because I haven't tested it a whole lot, but I think it'll work out nicely.

My sideboard is still a little awkward. Murder is there because it's the only removal without any restrictions that I have access to, but it's still a toss-up between that and another type of removal. The only cards I'm completely sold on thus far are the Vampire Nighthawks, Duresses and Golgari Charms. The Nighthawks are incredible against aggro and the other two are beyond useful in control match-ups. A bit of the sideboard is dedicated to Unburial Rites match-ups and the Silklash Spiders were suggested for when I run into some trouble flying creatures, as well as being fat bodies and making for some nice blockers. I'm not sold on them yet though because I haven't found a match in which I'd want to side them in.

"Hey there sexy..."

I also want to try out some Grisly Salvages. I might try a pair over the Wolfir Avengers and see how they go.

So there are still some bumps to iron out and whatnot, but even now the deck is really solid. Golgari Aggro is a serious thing, I reckon.

Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions?

Why does this keep happening to me?

2013-03-04T22:54:00.000-08:00

As some of you may know from a previous post I made, some people have a tendency to mistake my blog for something it most definitely is not. The latest one luckily hasn't quite caught on yet, but whoever searched it was looking for a pretty specific blog, and one that doesn't even exist at that (curiousity made me look it up, don't you judge me...).

Doesn't exist, sorry guys :'(

Why?

Tactica: Skaven Magic

2013-03-01T02:28:00.000-08:00

Magic is incredibly important in Warhammer, and Skaven have some of the most dangerous magic in the game. Maybe not the best casters, but if the Dreaded 13th isn't terrifying to the likes of Warriors of Chaos, all the elf variants and just about every elite unit and character ever, nothing is. The only thing that really lets Skaven magic down is the lack of a lore attribute which all of the newer books get, as well as lack of access to the lores in the rulebook.

Zzzap!

Spells of Ruin

You really can't go wrong with the Spells of Ruin. All of the spells are powerful in there own right and you'll rarely run into a situation in which you end up with a useless spell, but they're not all always useful. For example Howling Warpgale isn't any good against armies without shooting but wrecks Wood Elves and Dwarfs and Cracks Call isn't so great against any of the elves but annihilates Orcs and Goblins, Dwarfs, Undead and anything else with low initiative. In situations where you get a spell you don't need, just swap them out for the Dreaded 13th or Warp Lightning for your Grey Seers and Warlock Engineers respectively!

Spells

1. Skitterleap

Skitterleap is a pretty powerful spell really. It has some solid synergy with some of our more powerful items like the Doomrocket by Skitterleaping an Engineer on the flank of an army, it lets your characters disappear from combat if it's too dangerous or you can use it to cause serious issues with their movement phase with Warlock Engineers that you no longer need. You can use Engineers in this manner in basically the same way an elf player uses Great Eagles: place him on an angle an inch away from the unit so they have to charge him. Sacrifice the useless! Such is the Skaven way.

I'd almost never swap out Skitterleap unless I absolutely needed other spells, but that's not often. For only a 5+ to cast, it's just too good.

2. Warp Lightning

People take level 1 Warlock Engineers just for this spell. Warp-energy Condensor makes it even more powerful. It's incredible for removing chaff, light cavalry, hitting lone characters or models, and just in general causing some damage. An all-round good spell with a low casting value.

3. Howling Warpgale

One of the more situational spells, as mentioned. If you find yourself against any kind of missile-based gunline, it can be well worth it. Otherwise it's probably better swapped out for the 13th or Warp Lightning.

4. Death Frenzy

Turns Slaves into killing machines when you need to. Clanrats and Stormvermin too. Really, a nice spell to have, but not always as fantastic as other spells. If you don't see yourself using it during the game, just swap it out.

5. Scorch

Another damage spell, and a pretty interesting one at that. It's nearly double the casting cost of Warp Lightning and has one less strength, but it will hit more guys, doesn't hurt you on the roll of a one, has Flaming and causes a Panic Test if they take a single wound. I definitely think it's worth it. The main thing to remember with this one is that it [i]does not scatter[/i] because it says [i]place[/i] the template anywhere within 24". That's what really makes it good.

6. Cracks Call

A very powerful spell against low Initiative armies and units, and especially dangerous to War Machines. I'd even keep it over Howling Warpgale against High Elves (but not Wood Elves or Dark Elves; their shooting is far more powerful than High Elf shooting) for the chance you might snipe a character with it. It's also ridiculously powerful against Ogres. And when combined with Skitterleap. And especially when combined with Skitterleap against Ogres...

Spells of Plague

I'm going to be honest with you: the only reason Spells of Plague is even worth considering is because of Wither and Plague. Most of the spells are trash, but those two are so incredibly powerful it still makes it worth trying. It's a gamble, but it pays off when you get one or both of those spells.

Spells

1. Pestilent Breath

Meh. No armour allowed makes is nice, and it is cheap and has the potential to hit a bunch of guys, but it's nowhere near as flexible or powerful as Skitterleap and other similarly costed spells. Nice with Wither, though, especially being only S2.

2. Bless With Filth

The third best spell in the lore in my opinion, and the second cheapest to cast. Poisoned Attacks can really help your weak Skaven get some more wounds on. Very nasty against monsters. Especially if you manage to get Skavenslaves into them.

3. Wither

Probably the most subtly over-powered spell in the game. Dropping a big unit of High Elf Spearmen to T2 is just plain nasty. Ogre's only real survivability comes from their Toughness, but hit them with Wither and suddenly they're as easy to wound as Clanrats. It's a mean spell and not one to be underestimated.

4. Vermintide

This is my least favourite spell in the game, to be quite honest. 3D6 hits is nice, for sure, and you can hit a good number of units, but they don't ignore armour and the damage really ends up being very negligible when all is said and done. At least Pestilent Breath goes straight through 2+ armour saves. Not worth casting over other spells really.

5. Cloud of Corruption

A reasonable spell for a Plague Priest to have, seeing as he's the only Wizard you want that close that has access to the Spells of Plague. Skaven are meant to die. Get used to it. Just remember that every model of theirs is worth at least 2-3 of yours, if not more, so losing a few of your own guys for some of theirs is always a worthy trade.

6. Plague

A very, very powerful damage spell. Like, incredible. I'd put it second only to the Dreaded 13th in terms of the damage it can cause. The spell can backfire, but as long as you're thinking the way a Skaven general should, you won't care!

Story time!

I cast Wither on a unit of Dwarf Great Beards, then hit them with Plague in the same phase. Over half of the 30 models in the unit went down, the spell then bounced to a nearby Organ Gun and scored a wound, then it bounced to another Organ Gun and caused a wound, then a Cannon and also caused a wound, before finally hitting my own unit of 20-odd Clanrats with Warlord and Plague Priest, bringing the entire unit down to 3 Clanrats, the Warlord and a wounded Plague Priest. Needless to say, I've never had a more successful magic phase!

The Dreaded Thirteenth Spell

Time for more honesty I think, which is quite hard for me, being the mighty Skaven general that I am, but here goes: the Dreaded 13th is OP. Get used to it. In fact, love it. I do. Don't like having incredibly powerful spells? Maybe you're better suited to Ogres, because you're clearly not thinking like a rat.

Anyway, there's really no subtle tactics with this. We go from sneaky one-dicing Skitterleap for some cool movement tricks of setting up bombs, to just pointing at something, throwing 6 dice at the table, removing the previously pointed at unit and placing some more Clanrats that can kill stuff and offer up no Victory Points to the enemy.

A few tips:

Small, expensive units (Chaos Chosen, Swordmasters, Wardancers, Grave Guard) are the best target for the Dreaded 13th
The Clanrats from the Dreaded 13th offer no Victory Points to the opponent and are essentially worthless, treat them as such (i.e. throw them at things to keep them away from your Grey Seer, use them to redirect, anything is viable)
The Clanrats from the Dreaded 13th can be given any kit, so always place a unit with Shields and Full Command
Take the Dreaded 13th on your Grey Seer every single game unless facing Ogres. Nothing is as valuable.

A Guide to the Skaven Mindset

2013-02-21T02:06:00.001-08:00

In my experience with Skaven, they require a pretty unique frame of mind when handling them on the tabletop, being a fairly unique army to command.

Honestly, this is mostly aimed at newer Skaven players to help them get the most out of their army and so they can make the right decisions with a Skaven army on the spot and, most importantly, enjoy standing behind the rats. But if you're not so new, well, I dunno. May as well keep reading anyway, right? Right.

Once you get the hang of it, playing Skaven is kinda like this...

*Disclaimer: I do not condone giving cocaine to babies..*

With that out of the way, let's get down to business, shall we? Yeah, I think we shall.

Rule No. 1: Skaven die. All the time.

The most fundamental part of playing Skaven is getting used to the deaths of your own units. It happens. A lot. And it mostly happens because of your stuff, not the enemy's. It happens because Skaven are a pretty random army, with Doomwheels Zzzaping your own guys and Doomrockets firing backwards onto the Engineer's own unit and Plague bouncing straight back onto the unit acting as a meat shield for the wizard that cast it. However, with all these mishaps and more, Skaven make up for it by means of having all of these powerful yet random items and units that do more damage to the enemy than something less random of the same cost normally would, so it's very possible (and likely) for you to wipe out half of your own army before completely tabling your opponents. I know, because I've done it before.

Rule No. 2: Running away is good!

Even the special rules help us do it, so make use of them. If you ever get charged by something you don't think you'll be able to handle and you actually want that unit alive (usually only happens when expensive characters are in the unit) then Flee! without hesitation. Well, maybe hesitate for a moment and check how far away you are from the table edge, but mostly without hesitation... And deny challenges too. All day long. Unless you're confident your character can beat theirs in a scrap, just throw him at the back of the unit.

Opponent's get mad, you laugh, you run away more, and they get mad some more. Such is the cycle of Trying to Charge Skaven Units With Expensive Characters in Them.

Happens to me all the time.

Rule No. 3: Rats like cheese

People will complain about your things being overpowered. Often they're pretty close to the truth, too. They'll winge and they'll moan and they'll cry. And you know what you do? You laugh. Because while things like the Hell Pit, Doomwheel, Warp Lightning Cannon, Doomrocket, the Dreaded 13th and so on are all insanely powerful when they hit properly, they're all incredibly random as well. So don't be disheartened by their foolish crying, because for every S10 Zzzap! you get off on 3 War Machines in a row, there's always those times when you need a 6 on 3 dice to slam into the side of a unit and you manage a 4. And if you ever think to yourself "This is pretty powerful, maybe a little too powerful even..." just remember: rats like cheese.

Rule No. 4: It's everyone's fault but mine

If you ever lose, you didn't lose, the dice lost. Or your opponent cheated. Or your Grey Seer got distracted. Start searching for the culprit and have them used to feed the Rat Ogres immediately!

Seriously though, if you are new and you're losing, don't get down on yourself. Skaven are the most enjoyable armies I've ever played and losing just comes with being new, whether it's new to the game or just the army. There's plenty of time to learn the art of sabotage! And one day your opponent will concede on turn two and you'll be like...

"I was just losing so I could crush your spirit later!"

Story time!

Writing about laughing at my own guys dying reminded me of part of a game that illustrates my point pretty well, so here goes:

I was facing Dwarfs in a 1250 point game, and was testing out a Warlord on Rat Ogre Bonebreaker build (which is godlike, mind you) so I had no Grey Seer and a Level 2 Plague Priest as my only mage. Fortunately enough, my spells were Wither and Plague. I had a legendary magic phase, and managed to cast Wither on a unit of Dwarf Longbeard, then hit the same unit with Plague. The unit was brought down from 40 models + character to about 20 models. But it didn't end there...

Plague then bounced from the unit to an Organ Gun, managed to cause a wound, bounced to another Organ Gun, caused another wound, bounced to a Cannon, caused another wound and then, finally, bounced straight back onto the Clanrat unit in which the Plague Priest who cast the spell was in. Now I have never rolled more 4+'s in my life, because the unit went from being 20 Clanrats with Full Command, a Plague Priest and Warlord to the Clanrat's unit champion and standard bearer, a wounded Plague Priest and the Warlord.

It is by far the most enjoyable (and successful) magic phase I've ever had. I went on to win that game after my Warlord beat his Dwarf Lord in a challenge after many, many rounds of combat. Many 6's were rolled that game.

Anywayz, thanks for reading! Thoughts and comments always welcome.

Apologies and Again in Advance

2013-02-17T23:26:00.015-08:00

This is about the inactivity. Not that a whole lot of you care, really, but I just haven't had much spare time lately.

Not to worry, I've not given up on any of my hobbies, I just haven't done much worth posting about. Hopefully I can get some progress or some Fantasy batreps up some time soon. Looking to write something interesting for my Wood Elves too. And my Skaven for that matter. Looking to find time soon!

That's all for now, I'm afraid.

BUG Aggro: Post-GTC Update!

2013-02-04T23:44:00.013-08:00

I said I'd post a version of the list up after I was a bit happier with it. It must be said that it's still not completely done, but after a whole lot of struggling I finally managed to get it to a point I was happy with it. There are some things I'm still iffy about, but more on that after the deck...

Land:
4x Breeding Pool
2x Drowned Catacomb
4x Golgari Guildgate
2x Hinterland Harbor
4x Overgrown Tomb
2x Simic Guildgate
4x Woodland Cemetery
(22 total)

Creatures:
4x Experiment One
3x Strangleroot Geist
4x Lotleth Troll
4x Dreg Mangler
2x Corpsejack Menace
4x Deadbridge Goliath
3x Master Biomancer
1x Prime Speaker Zegana
(25 total)

Planeswalkers:
1x Garruk, Primal Hunter
(1 total)

Spells:
4x Rancor
3x Ultimate Price
1x Essence Harvest
2x Increasing Savagery
(12 total)

60 total

Sideboard:
2x Appetite for Brains
4x Duress
3x Simic Charm
3x Golgari Charm
2x Abrupt Decay

15 total

First all, the things I'm a little so-and-so about are the exact numbers of certain cards. I'm not sure if I want 4 Master Biomancers or 3 or 2. If I ran 2 I could take a 4th Strangleroot Geist and then add either another land, Zegana, Garruk, Corpsejack, Essence Harvest or Savagery. Really I think it'd be between Zegana, Garruk and the Corpsejack, but you get the idea: there are a lot of good (in my eyes, anyway) options. I could also just not add any of them and take some ramp instead.

So sexy, yet so many moneys...

The Essence Harvest is also pulling me back and forth. I love the card every time I play it, especially in a deck so capable of creating some huge monsters as this one, and I really don't think I'm willing to part with it yet. As of right now, I'm going to have to say it's staying. It's not something often used, which I like, and whenever I use it it just seems so powerful. Honestly, I actually want a second one, but I'm not sure what good that would do for the deck.

All your souls are belong to us

Anyway, onto the deck itself, and how it's supposed to work:

It's loosely based on Bryan Kibler's BG Aggro. And by that I mean it's meant to follow the same general concept as opposed to being a copy/paste with my own changes made to it, although a number of cards are similar between the decks.

So for those of you not familiar with how this style of aggro is meant to work, it's meant to (if I can remember correctly) establish an early presence like most aggro decks, but also benefits from being far more resilient than other (generally red) aggro decks as well thanks to a lot of Regeneration, Undying and generally bigger creatures. I do believe it's slightly slower because of a larger number of 4+ drops, but its resilience more than makes up for it. And for those that want it, green has ample access to mana acceleration.

I've splashed blue as well because I think Simic are fucking cool, and also because Master Biomancer is just too good to ignore. Zegana just sweetens the deal.

That aside, I think the deck should be fairly resilient, and I really like the way Experiment One works with a Master Biomancer already on the board. But I don't like how the Biomancer and a Strangleroot work together, so I guess by that point of the game Strangleroot Geists are just going to become Lotleth food. I'm considering even dropping the Geist count to 2 because of this, but we'll see.

Oozes are people too!

Last of all, the Sideboard is mostly aimed at control, because control gives me the most issues.

Anyway, the deck is pretty much done. I think (and hope, really, really hope) that it's just up to the stage where it's down to ironing out the BUGs...

As usual, feel free to comment. Criticism more than welcome.

Gatecrash Pre-release Results and Rundown

2013-01-29T23:42:00.007-08:00

Walking into the store for my first pre-release was certainly quite the exciting experience, and the day did not disappoint.

Cracking open all the boosters and searching for some solid Simic cards, I must say I did come up a touch short. I probably could've made a pretty solid Boros deck out of what I pulled, but this wasn't for competition and I came to play Simic, so that's what I did.

My main issue was that my deck was too slow for Evolve to really trigger effectively, and Extort and Battalion just dominated me. I ended up going 1-3, with my one win being against a Gruul deck.

Aside from the one game against the Orzhov player, who has to be one of the most boring guys I've ever had to sit across from, the rest was good fun, losses and all.

All that out of the way, let's get into some of the nicer cards I got on the day!

That flavour text is a little dirty...

A fair few people don't seem to like this card, but it really is a ticking bomb on the right creature, in the right deck (which just happens to be mine). Throw it on an Experiment One for the easy access to regen or, better yet, on a Master Biomancer so that all your creatures enter exponentially larger each turn. It has some nice spots, I think. Enough to run two in the least.

Corpsejack + Increasing Savagery = insane ramp

My only issue with this card is its speed. It doesn't give you early mana like Farseek or help you out as much as Arbor Elf in the early game, but from what I managed with it it's extremely capable of turning your mid-game into the late-game in terms of your mana. It puts you ahead very, very fast. The best thing is that casting Increasing Savagery on this means that you can tap it for even more mana than you actually spent on it, getting instant ramp turn 4 that lasts well throughout the game. Not to mention a very beefy body.

"Hover Barrier? Thanks, I wouldn't mind the extra defender."

Only rated something like 2.9 on Gatherer, and I can kind of see why some don't like it, but in my experience this is an amazing card against certain decks. It's definitely not maindeck worthy because it can't handle everything and can be a straight-up waste against creatureless decks, but it certainly has a place in the sideboard in my opinion.

Nothing more enjoyable than drawing half your deck!

Unfortunately I didn't crack Zegana in my own packs, but my friend was kind enough to trade it to me for some cards, so she now sits in my proper deck. Last game I used her I had a Corpsejack on the field as well as a 14/14. She dropped with 28 counters on her and I proceeded to draw half my deck. I won the game, in case you were wondering.

A BGU aggro deck is currently in the works, still being tweeked, but I'll post it up as well as some results when I feel it's closer to finished.

Thoughts? Comments?

Warhammer: The Definition of Overpowered

2013-01-20T00:40:00.004-08:00

Every time an arguement begins on the Internet about whether or not a unit or army is overpowered, there's always those few people who say that there's no such thing as OP, that victory in Warhammer comes 100% down to skill and the luck of the dice, and as such nothing is OP because there's always a chance you'll just roll a bunch of 1's.

Unfortunately, those few people are wrong. There's no logic to that argument and denying that some units and armies are far more powerful than others is plain dumb.

In an attempt to put an end to these retarded arguments, I'm going to do my best at describing what makes something overpowered, or more powerful than something else.

Remember 5th edition when Necrons were balanced? Oh well...

Simply put, something that's overpowered is something that is too effective, efficient, can perfom too many roles too well or has too few weaknesses for its point cost.

But let's look at the specific arguments often put forth against the notion that anything could ever be OP.

"It all comes down to the skill of the player"
To be fair, this has some credibility to it, as more often than not the more skilled/experienced player will win, but that's not what I want to get at.

My issue with this point is that some units do not require skill of any kind to use, because they're good at everything. But it's not just that they're good at everything, it's that they're too good at everything. For example, standard Space Marines are pretty good at doing whatever you need them to do, but they're not the best at anything and, to be quite jeff, they're pretty bad in combat.

Instead, think of standard Grey Knights, especially back in 5th edition. They're like Space Marines, but for a small points increase they become monsters in combat (and can annihilate monsters in combat at that) and they even benefit from superior firepower. They're too good at everything, and in comparison to Space Marines they require less skill to win with, and nothing should require less skill than Space Marines.

"It's all about the luck of the dice on the day - Warhammer is all about luck"
I hate this. It's the stupidest argument of all time. This is what people say when they go into "goddidit" mode. When they want to hold onto their belief that their army isn't at all overpowered and that they're really a good player, they deny everything and just tell you that "thedicedidit".

Unfortunately for you, my terrible gaming friend, it wasn't entirely the fault of the dice that made your unit beat face. See, while everyone has to roll dice and hope they don't roll any 1's, some units have a better chance than others at doing what they want to do, and in some cases this chance is just too good for the cost of the unit.

You want an example? Just look to the Hell Pit Abomination. That thing is 100% random, so unlike just about everything else in Warhammer, it is literally decided by how your dice roll. However, with 3D6" movement and his stats, as well as his special attack types and Impact Hits, the Hell Pit is insane. It's literally a "no skill involved, just throw dice at it and win" unit.

You want another example? Alright, let's get a little more abstract, 40k style this time. Unit X and unit Y. Both cost 10 points a model. Neither of them have any guns, because they're both purely designed for combat. The difference is unit X is WS5 while Y is WS4. There are no other differences. Are you willing to sit there and tell me that unit X is not overpowered? I mean, there's always the chance that X rolls all 1's and 2's while Y just 6's everything. Yep, definitely a possibility. But the fact is that X is far more likely to Hit than Y, and that's what actually matters.

It's about the chances of the units to do something, and some units have odds that are just far too good for something of that cost, whether it's because of a huge number of shots/attacks or because of a stat that's just a little too high, some units are too powerful because their chances are just far too good.

"It's about both - skill and luck"
Let's look to Skaven for an example, more specifically, Skavenslaves. Alright, so they're WS2, BS2, S3, T3 and have no armour. How on earth could they be OP? Well, we've got to factor in a couple of other things first. First of all, a general is mandatory in just about every army, and considering how important magic is and how incredible the Dreaded 13th is, just about every Skaven player will be running a Grey Seer. Second of all, BSB's are generally considered a must-have, especially in an army as cowardly as Skaven. So, Slaves not taken into account, these two things would be taken almost all the time anyway.

Now what that's got to do with Slaves is this: Take 50 Slaves in a unit, 5 wide and 10 deep, and keep them in range of your BSB and General and they're a leadership 10 with rerolls tar pit at 2 points per model unit, as well as being Steadfast in just about every situation for a very long time. Then, add onto that the fact that I can sit back and fire my Warp Lightning Cannons into that combat for as long as I want while my opponent can't do anything outside the combat to help his guys win, and then add onto that the fact that other units don't panic when Slaves explode, and you've got a very, very good unit for only 2 points per guy.

Too good.

This unit requires no skill to use. You simply get it to tar pit whoever you want and keep your general and BSB in range of them. It's so simple that I can do it. It also has a very, very small chance of running away, so it's a 2 point-per-model tar pit with no weaknesses in its role. In fact, it's better than a whole lot of other units designed for the task that cost way more points than it does. That's OP.

So I don't know if I demonstrated my point very well or not, because I had a good amount of trouble trying to set this out nicely for you all, but hopefully you catch my drift.

The main thing is, some things are more powerful than others. Some things are too powerful. It's just a fact. Deal with it.

Thoughts? Comments?

Holy Blastmasters Lucius! New CSM FAQ

2013-01-16T05:15:00.002-08:00

For those of you that haven't seen it, here's the recently updated Chaos Space Marines FAQ.

Now what's the main thing I got from this?

Page 99 – Noise Marines, Options.
Change the third bullet point to “One Noise Marine may
replace his boltgun with a blastmaster at 30 pts/model. If the
squad numbers ten or more models, an additional Noise
Marine may replace his boltgun with a blastmaster at 30
pts/model..”

I most certainly do

Oh dear lord yes! So now for every Noise Marine squad I can fire two S8 AP3 Ignores Cover blasts? I'm so very pleased.

Looks like I'll have to rewrite my CSM list though.

And there's also this:

Page 99 – Noise Marines, Wargear.
Add “Close combat weapon (Champion Only)”

Which is pretty cool, but I don't care too much about that one.

They also fixed the Zombies unit size, which is nice.

The rest is pretty obvious really. Nothing you shouldn't be able to figure out without a little common sense.

Thoughts? Comments?

MTG: 15/13 With Trample Turn 4? I think so!

2013-01-16T02:57:00.000-08:00

After some thinking, I realised that I can get a Deadbridge Goliath to 15/13 with Trample by turn 4, and I thought that was just a little insane.

In fact, I think it's more than a little insane, because if one had no removal in hand at the time I'd probably just be scooping. In any case, it's all good fun and would make for a good, maniacal laugh when pulled off.

Giant Insect Rhino Fungus

First turn, we play a Forest and then slap down an Arbor Elf.

Turn 2 throw down our second land, then tap both for a Farseek.

Turn 3 we play another land and then place our Giant Insect Rhino Fungus, then we tap Arbor Elf to untap a Forest, then retap afforementioned Forest and throw Rancor onto the Deadbridge.

Finally, at turn 4 we play another land, making for 5 in total, then play a Corpsejack Menace, use the 5th land for a Bond Beetle and putting the counters onto the Goliath, then we swing with the Goliath, pray they attempt to lower the damage coming from the currently 9/7 Trampler running at them and, if they do, we slap a Hunger of the Howlpack right onto our already-massive creature after untapping a Forest with our Arbor Elf for a total of 6 +1/+1 counters placed on him.

So there you go, a 15/13 creature with trample on turn 4.

Viable? Well, I don't really know, but against anything not black or blue, I'd say so. Definitely kitchen table friendly in the least.

Fun? Oh god yes!

As long as your opponent doesn't have any cheap removal you'll be set and it's pretty much game over right there. If they do, well, at least your Rancor comes straight back to your hand, your Corpsejack is down and you've got a bunch more mana than you should, plus a couple of chump blockers until you can more buffs and bodies down.

Thoughts? Comments?

Heldrake: Baleflamer or Hades Autocannon?

2013-01-14T19:57:00.003-08:00

Well, as promised, I think it's time to help out those of you stuck on what to take on your Heldrakes, and why!

I didn't know Baleflamers could hurt Flyers!

Take the Baleflamer.
Why?

Alright, let's get into it.

The Hades Autocannon is undeniably a decent gun with 4 shots at S8, and having it on a Heldrake means you can fire it at enemy Flyers. 12 being the usual maximum AV for Flyers, S8 is pretty darn decent. So why not take the Hades Autocannon? Well, honestly, it's just so damn mediocre on a Heldrake. At BS3, you'll hit 2 shots and against AV12 you'll get one glance/pen. Sure, combined with his Vector Strike you have a reasonable chance at taking down an enemy Flyer, but at 170 points you'd be wanting something better than a reasonable chance.

And the same applies to standard vehicles. You have an OK chance to take out a vehicle over a turn or two.

Then when it comes to firing at enemy infantry, you lack both the volume of fire to hurt hordes and the AP to hurt Marines.

So really taking the Hades Autocannon makes your Heldrake pretty mediocre at just about everything.

The Baleflamer on the other hand is just ridiculous. A S6 AP3 Template that you can place 12" away from the model firing it? Yes please!

Unlike the Hades Autocannon, the Baleflamer has both the capability to hit huge numbers of dudes as well as the AP to deal with Marines and any other 3+ save guys. On top of that, it's wounding them all on 2+. Then take into account that it also ignores cover saves and it's just an incredible weapon.

Need an objective cleared last turn? No problem, just go into Skimmer mode, get as close as you need and Baleflamer those dudes away for the win. Opponent running a horde of Power Armour? Baleflamer fixes that. Are they running a horde of anything at all? Same thing goes. It's also great at clearing heavy weapon teams. Really, it's great at removing any infantry T5 or less that doesn't have a 2+ save, and that's most things you'll be facing.

Then, if you really do need to remove that last Hull Point, you can always Vector Strike, just as a last resort thing.

If you're running 3 Heldrakes, I might consider giving one of them a Hades Autocannon then, but for 1-2 they should all have a Baleflamer.

If you want to remove enemy Flyers, get some Havocs or maybe even give a Forgefiend a spin. There are plenty of better options for it than the Heldrake.

The More "Interesting" Ways People Have Found My Blog

2013-01-14T04:15:00.002-08:00

There have been a couple of rather... ah... "interesting" ways some people have managed to stumble upon my blog. A couple have me a little confused, but the latest is just on a whole new level.

As anyone with a blog of their own will know, you can check out your traffic sources, or what keywords people searched in google to gain access to your site. I guess some use this information to get further views somehow, but personally I just find it interesting. It's nice to see that I've answered a specific question someone has typed into google, but most of the time it's just with things like "daemon prince".

Rambling aside, here's the latest googling craze:

Click to enlarge. Not that all of you will need it ;)

What perplexes me most is how it happened 4 times. Like, what the fuck? Is my blog the first thing that pops up when you type these words into google? I'm too scared to find out for myself.

On the topic of my pageviews though, honourable mentions to miniwargaming and House of Paincakes to being my top traffic sources.

And speaking of google search keywords, I might just have to do something on the Baleflamer vs Hades Autocannon...

Anyway, theories? Thoughts? Comments?

G/B Golgari BIG Monsters Decklist For Standard

2013-01-11T22:59:00.002-08:00

As promised in my last post, I'm posting up my first decklist after much deliberation and changes made. The entire idea behind the deck is pretty simple: create the biggest creature possible and punch my opponent's face in. There are a variety of ways I can achieve this though, so it's not like if one card doesn't pop up the whole deck is screwed. More on that after the actual deck, though...

Land:
4x Swamp
8x Forest
4x Overgrown Tomb
4x Woodland Cemetery
4x Rogue's Passage
(24 total)

Creatures:
2x Slitherhead
2x Bond Beetle
2x Strangleroot Geist
2x Predator Ooze
4x Corpsejack Menace
4x Deadbridge Goliath
2x Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
3x Soul of the Harvest
(21 total)

Planeswalkers:
2x Vraska the Unseen
(2 total)

Spells:
3x Rancor
3x Farseek
3x Essence Harvest
4x Increasing Savagery
(13 total)

60 total

So how does it win? Well, as I said, there are a good number of ways this deck can pull off a win.

Ideally, a Corpsejack Menace will be down, and an Increasing Savagery thrown onto something like the Deadbridge Goliath or Soul of the Harvest.

From there, we can cast Essence Harvest and depending on whether or not Increasing Savagery was cast with its Flashback we could very well insta-gib our opponent.

Or we could sacrifice the creature with Jarad's second ability.

Or we could make the creature unblockable with Rogue's Passage.

Or we could simply Trample straight over whatever creature's the opponent has with Rancor/Soul of the Harvest.

Without making anything big, we could also make one of Vraska's tokens unblockable and win the game simply because they can't stop our 1/1 assassin.

And there are plenty of other combinations that ultimately lead the deck to victory.

But as some may have noticed, the deck has no Golgari Decoys or Wild Beastmasters, which I previously considered fairly essential additions to my deck. So what happened? Glad you asked. See, the Golgari Decoy was a fantastic card at first when my deck was mostly the Intro Pack, but as I added more new cards the less useful it became thanks to the abundance of Trample and Unblockable and Jarad and Essence Harvest.

As for the Wild Beastmaster, while she's a solid card I don't feel like she fits into this deck specifically because it focuses more on making one or two massive creatures and I don't often have the number of creatures down to really benefit from her. I feel that a in a token spam deck she's almost mandatory, just not here.

I'm aware that the deck isn't exactly the most powerful deck in the world, but it's a hell of a lot of fun, and it's my first deck too. In the least, I'm proud of it and have fun making the biggest creatures I can. It's also good fun throwing down a Deadbridge Goliath turn 3 after a turn 2 Farseek, but I guess that's beside the point...

Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions?

First FNM: Stomped By a Kid

2013-01-07T19:51:00.000-08:00

Last Friday I headed up to my local store to play in my first ever Friday night Magic. It was also the first time I've versed anyone that's not my two MTG playing friends, and the first time I've versed anyone with a decent deck that's not pretty much the Intro Pack + a couple of cards.

It's nice to get some games in against more experienced players and to see what kinds of decks people run in my area.

My deck isn't complete yet, so I wasn't running an ideal set of cards, but I still did reasonably well I think.

My only real issue was actually against a child of about 7 years old. His dad was playing someone else, and as soon as I sat down he said "My mum has the same card sleeves as you" and I was all like "Oh great, a family of MTG players. This'll be fun..."

But it turned out it wasn't. He was playing a Blue/White control deck that his dad had won some tournament with, and the kid obviously had far more experience at the game than I did. I learned a very important lesson that game: playing against control is not fun.

Other than that I played against RB Rakdos aggro and GW token spam. I only just lost to the aggro 1-2, but they were fun games and really could've gone either way. The GW token spam went my way the entire time and I won 2-0. In the first game I had a Corpsejack Menace that I had cast Increasing Savagery and Rancor on which managed to destroy every single token creature in a single attack and still do 3 damage to my opponent.

A fun night all in all and I've had the chance to check out which cards work and which don't in my deck, as well as what I have trouble with so I'll be able to fine-tune my deck a bit. Hopefully I'll be able to post a complete decklist pretty soon, I just need to finish fiddling around with it.

Thoughts? Comments?

Wild Beastmaster

2012-12-30T21:39:00.002-08:00

I'm such a dumbass.

You know when you think something sucks, and then later on realise that it's actually the greatest thing ever? Well yeah, this is one of those situations.

Just look at this card:

Completely OP

And then add this into my previous combo and you've got a definite win as soon as you attack. No one can handle multiple 11/11 or higher creatures hitting them all at once, especially when their creatures are all forced to block a 12/12 guy while the rest have free rein to cause whatever damage they can.

Plain OP.

Thoughts? Comments? Abuse for missing this earlier?

MTG Golgari Win Condition

2012-12-24T03:49:00.001-08:00

I've been playing around with my deck for a fair while now, and I think I've finally got my win condition down pat.

How do I win?

Well, first of all, I play this:

Double +1/+1 is sooooo good!

Then I play this:

It doesn't really matter who on.

Then it really depends on my opponents life. If they're still sitting at 20, then casting its Flashback on the same (or even a different creature) is a good idea, seeing as it'll bring that creature to over 20/20. If they're around 14-15 or lower, depending on the creature it was played on, then there's no need and we go straight to the next step!

Playing this:

"You can't catch me, fatty!"

Then we attack with everything and they die. Game over.

So let's check it out step-by-step quickly. We play the Corpsejack Menace, who doubles +1/+1 counters placed, then we play Increasing Savagery which normally would get me 5 +1/+1 counters, but because of the afforementioned doubling, we get +10/+10 on a creature (let's just say it's the Menace for now), so we've got a 14/14 sitting around. This is pretty pointless if they can block him though, isn't it? So we throw down a Golgari Decoy and attack with both. They're now forced to block the Decoy and your Menace goes straight in to do 14 damage.

By this point it's usually enough to finish them off, but if it's not then just spend another turn to Flashback the Increasing Savagery and make him 34/34 for some great overkill. Or just Scavenge a whole bunch of creatures if you use them (I'm fond of Slitherheads personally, and 3 of those would get you the 20/20 you need for absolutely no mana cost).

With my limited experience with the game, I'm pretty happy with this to be honest. Now I've just got to work out the rest of my deck...

Thoughts? Comments?

Skaven Weapon Teams Roles and Comparisons

2012-12-22T22:19:00.000-08:00

All dem weapon teams... Which one do I choose? Should I mix it up? How many? Well, let's find out!

Warpfire Thrower
The most expensive team you can buy, and for good reason. At S5 it cuts through armour and wounds better than any of the other Weapon Teams, as well as causing D3 wounds per unsaved wound. This thing is a monster against the likes of Ogres and Monstrous Cavalry and it can be put to good use against Monster-riding Lords/Heroes if you must. Doing just that won me a game once, actually.

Unfortunately, however, the Warpfire Thrower is a move or fire weapon and its Misfire Chart is brutal. If you roll a misfire you only have a 1/6 chance of not losing your Weapon Team instantly.

Despite its downsides, the Warpfire Thrower is my favourite Weapon Team. It causes huge damage with a high strength and D3 wounds, and being a Template Weapon it hits huge amounts of models. It can also Stand and Shoot if anyone decides to charge it, which is nice. There's really no army the Warpfire Thrower isn't good against.

Preferably fire it into large clumps of expensive Infantry, but really it can be used in any situation you need it for.

Ratling Gun
The cheapest option, and on the surface it doesn't look too bad, but once you dig a little deeper I don't think it's as great as it first appears.

The first issue is that it is very random. You can either play it safe and only roll 2-3 time to see how many shots you get with a small risk of getting a misfire or you can roll 4+ times for maximum shots but put yourself in a very dangerous situation in terms of misfire chances. The first option, while safer, means fewer shots and less casualties, while the latter is a more high risk, high rewards kind of thing.

Random shots aside, you also have to roll To Hit and with the poor BS of the Weapon Teams only half the number of shots will even hit. Then with only a S of 4, it won't wound as much as the Warpfire Thrower team either.

With all that taken into account, the Ratling Gun really won't do a whole bunch of damage.

Either way though, I do think Ratling Guns have a place in an army. I'd consider taking 1-2 in a list as chaff-removal. Unlike the Warpfire Thrower there's no chance of the Ratling Gun over shooting and it has a lower chance of a misfire, so you'll almost definitely get some hits on the target and against a lot of chaff only 1-2 wounds are all that's needed. 6 is the most number of wounds I can think of for a small chaff unit, and that's our own Rat Darts. So while not extremely powerful, Ratling Guns do have a place!

Doom-flayer
On-par with the Ratling Gun in points, and a very, very interesting option as well. It's the toughest of the Weapon Teams with a 3+ armour save to the front and a 5+ to the side, it does D3 Impact Hits as well as an Artillery Dice worth of S4 auto-hits in combat and it has Armour Piercing.

I haven't used this Team, but I think it'd be good fun to use. Considering its superior armour save, I'd say throwing it into the side of a unit that some Slaves have held up would be a good use, otherwise I'd use it to take on Archers and chaff. It seems fairly flexible in its roles, being able to take on just about any lightly-armoured opponent, just avoid anything heavily armed and armoured and it should do alright.

I think I'd only use it in friendly games though. Save competitive games for the Warpfire Throwers and Ratling Guns.

Poisoned Wind Mortar
The most mobile of the standard Weapon Teams, but it's really my least favourite.

It may be able to move and fire, but it only fires a small blast, and with the way things scatter in Fantasy it's an extremely inaccurate weapon. It rarely hits anything, rarely wounds what it does hit and then explodes horribly.

It looks good on paper, but in my experience I don't think it's worth the points. If it was cheaper than I think it'd definitely be worth it, but as is you'd be far better off forking out the extra 5 points for a Warpfire Thrower.

Maybe you've had better luck with it than I, but it has been extremely lack-lustre for me.

If you do want to use it, however, I suggest targetting any large, heavily armoured units first. Things like Knights make good targets if you're feeling lucky and think you can get some hits, while hordes will almost definitely get you some hits but the innate armour-ignoring abilities of the weapon will be wasted and you'll have a hard time killing many. The Warpfire Thrower is better in just about all situations.

Warp-grinder
An interesting one. It can only be taken on Night Runners and Gutter Runners, and is only taken for its deployment capabilities.

So let's look at those capabilities, shall we? The unit goes into reserve and comes in on a 4+ from turn 2 onwards. They come in from a marker that's placed at the beginning of the game and scatter using a Scatter Die and an Artillery Die. So it's extremely random, and the enemy can avoid you or place a big, fat combat unit right on top of the marker. If you pop up and didn't scatter too much you'll be in combat with someone who will wreck you instantly.

Personally I'd never take a Warp-grinder with either Night or Gutter Runners. It's too random and you have a good chance of losing the entire unit with a misfire. In combat it only does D3 S4 hits too, so barely anything noticeable. Too random and far too dangerous for the Skaven player to be considered if you ask me.

Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions?

Daemon Prince: Why They're Not Broken

2012-12-22T17:38:00.002-08:00

It is the belief of a very special few that the Daemon Prince's Daemon of X special rule is broken because it says "Daemons of X have...". I'm going to explain why it's not broken.

I guess this guy is a little broken, isn't he?

First of all, let's try to understand why some people think the rule is broken.

I'll use the Daemon of Nurgle special rule as an example. Because the Daemon of Nurgle special rule says that "Daemons of Nurgle have..." then some people take it to mean that any Daemon of Nurgle in the same army as a Daemon Prince with the Daemon of Nurgle rule instantly gain all bonuses that the Daemon Prince receives.

So what does this mean within our own Codex? Well, according to these people, if you give a unit a Mark of Nurgle, it then becomes "of Nurgle", and if it has the Daemon special rule it is therefore a "Daemon of Nurgle" and is as a result effected by the Daemon Prince's special rule. Warp Talons with Shrouded, anyone?

Because of a 15 point mandatory upgrade you now have one of the most broken armies in the game, right?

Wrong.

Why this is wrong is pretty simple really. The "Daemon" Universal Special Rule and the "Mark of Nurgle" are two completely seperate entities. It does not say anywhere, on any page ever that a model with a Mark of X and the Daemon special rule becomes a Daemon of X.

That's that.

But why does the entry say "Daemons of Nurgle have..."? Because Daemon Princes are not a one-per-army unit. You can have multiple Daemon Princes in your army, and thus all the Daemon Princes with the "Daemon of Nurgle" special rule are "Daemons of Nurgle".

What about Codex: Chaos Daemons though? To be completely honest with you, I have nothing on that one. It is indeed very possible to argue that all Nurgle Daemons from Codex: Chaos Daemons gain the rules for being a Daemon of Nurgle, and whether this was intended or not only time will be able to tell. Unless I missed something, of course.

Basically: Daemon of X does not do anything for any unit from C:CSM but it might be a little broken when combined with units from C:CD.

Thoughts? Comments? Proofs?

Daemon Prince: Which God?

2012-12-18T01:44:00.000-08:00

I kind of enjoyed writing about the Marks and Icons, so I thought I'd do a similar thing with the Daemon of X that is mandatory on your Daemon Prince.

Dem abs

I'm not going to bother mentioning the Hatred (Y) beyond now because it doesn't seem necessary. It's not what you should be focussing on when deciding which upgrade to take.

Daemon of Khorne
Furious Charge and that's it. Really? In all honesty I feel a bit more effort could have been put into this one, and as is it's pretty useless. S6 is the magic number. At S6 you wound T4 (the majority of opponents you face) on a 2+ and you can cause Instant Death on T3 (the second most common Toughness value - taking popularity of Marine armies into account) opponents.

But what do you gain from becoming S7 instead of 6? Very little, really. You can penetrate the armour of vehicles slightly easier, which is kinda pointless seeing as you can just use your Smash attacks anyway for S10 and rerolls for penetration, and you can wound T5 opponents on a 2+ for a single round of combat, but how common are they?

Not common enough to take this upgrade over any of the others, especially with it being the cost it is.

Daemon of Tzeentch
Combined with Power Armour and Wings this is a very nice option. Slap on a Burning Brand of Skalathrax and you never have to stop Flying either.

Definitely an awesome upgrade when you consider that most anti-air is AP4, so you've got an extremely small chance of actually taking a wound.

Nice if you want to just keep on Flying around with the Burning Brand, or even if you decide to beat face with the Black Mace.

Daemon of Nurgle
Considering that Wings are essentially a must-have on Daemon Princes (you do want to actually get close to the enemy, right?) the only real downside to this option is that you'd have to make use of terrain constantly to really benefit from it at all. If you can manage that, however, it is slightly better than the Mark of Tzeentch when outside of combat. When in combat though, the Mark of Tzeentch is better.

I'd be giving this Prince some Wings, Burning Brand and nothing else. You don't want to rely on your armour save because there's really no point if you can use the terrain and you don't want to be in combat either because you have absolutely no benefits there.

A decent upgrade, but considering its fairly restrictive nature in actually benefiting from it, I don't know if I'd bother over Daemon of Tzeentch.

Daemon of Slaanesh
Rending is absolutely useless because you benefit from it in neither combat against infantry or vehicles. An extra 3" on your run is pointless because you're always Flying. Pointless. Even the Daemon of Khorne upgrade is more useful.

Conclusion
The Daemon of Tzeentch is really the only one that's very good, while the Daemon of Nurgle upgrade is pretty good but not great. Daemon of Khorne is something I'd only take if I were running a fluff-based Khorne army, but even then I'd probably just take Kharn. The Daemon of Slaanesh upgrade shouldn't be touched by a 10" pole, unfortunately. Slaanesh is my favourite god too :sadface:

A brief summary of the order:

Daemon of Tzeentch (OP)
Daemon of Nurgle
Daemon of Khorne
Daemon of Slaanesh

And just as a last note, the Black Mace is OP on a Daemon Prince. My favourite kit is Daemon of Tzeentch, Wings, Power Armour, Black Mace, Burning Brand of Skalathrax (if you have points).

Thoughts? Comments?

The Role of Each Mark of Chaos

2012-12-11T00:11:00.005-08:00

Deciding which Mark to give to your units of Chaos Space Marines and other otherwise Undivided units can be one of the hardest decisions to make when writing a list for your Chaos Space Marines (unless you're going for a specific god), so to make that job a little easier, it's probably wise to have a good idea of the role of each Mark, and which units they work best on.

For simplicity, I put the Marks into three categories: Offensive, Defensive and Both.

Offensive Marks

Mark of Khorne

He's just so... Khorney!

This one is pretty obvious in its use: put it on a unit and they'll massacre in combat. This is the only offensive mark we have, i.e. the only mark that is designed purely to cause more casualties but will not prevent you from taking casualties in return.

The kinds of units you want this on are units that will be throwing their weight around in combat. The other important thing, however, is that you want to consider whether or not the unit is tough enough to actually punch enough things for them to do their job, or if they're cheap enough for you to not worry about their survivability anyway, as long as they do enough.

Units like Chaos Space Marines and Cultists with close combat weapons, and maybe Raptors are perfect examples of cheap units that can go punch-for-punch with some more elite units given a Mark of Khorne, while Mutilators and Terminators are some of the more expensive but tougher units. I wouldn't take the Mark of Khorne on Warp Talons personally because it just seems like far too much overkill.

It should go without saying really, but anything that should be shooting is not worth giving a Mark of Khorne, this includes anything with Plasma Guns. If you give a Mark of Khorne to a unit of Chaos Space Marines, make sure they get Meltaguns/Flamers. Rapid Fire weapons are wasted points here.

Defensive Marks

Mark of Nurgle

Disgusting!

Another pretty obvious one (in fact, I think they all are really), and a very popular Mark as well. There's really nothing the Mark of Nurgle isn't good on.

I think the main thing really is: when do you take the Mark of Nurgle, and when Tzeentch?

Well, the Mark of Nurgle doesn't improve your save or give you a better chance at stopping your guy from dying after the wound has been caused, instead it simply reduces the number of wounds taken altogether.

In general, the Mark of Nurgle helps against anything that's S6 (S7 if on Bikers or Spawn) or worse by simply lowering the number of saves you have to take. This means that your models with a Mark of Nurgle will generally be very resilient when it comes to walking through a hail of Bolter fire or weathering an Explodes! result from a vehicle.

But what does it not provide defence against? Well, simply put, things like Plasma Guns, i.e. anything with a high enough strength to wound you on a 2+ anyway, which will often ignore your saves as well. In situations like this, the Mark of Nurgle becomes completely worthless.

Fortunately most guns are not Plasma Guns, but unfortunately Plasma Guns will be the bane of your existence.

The kinds of units that benefit the most from the Mark of Nurgle are Bikers and Spawn thanks to their already bloated toughness, which actually means that even Plasma Guns will only be wounding on 3's. Chaos Space Marines, Raptors or anything else without a pre-existing Invulnerable Save also benefit from the Mark of Nurgle far more than they do from the Mark of Tzeentch.

Mark of Tzeentch

Needs more change to be more competitive

The Mark of Tzeentch protects you against all the things Mark of Nurgle doesn't, but won't help you at all against the things that the Mark of Nurgle does, so this puts a player into quite the sticky situation... Who do I take which Mark on? When?

Well, first of all the Mark of Tzeentch really is pretty pants on a unit that doesn't already have an Invulnerable save, because a 6++ is just really not worth the points. So that leaves us with the likes of Terminators, Warp Talons, Obliterators, Mutilators and Possessed.

Whether you take Mark of Tzeentch on these units or not depends on a few things:

Do you want to avoid terrain so you can move faster/avoid Dangerous Terrain?
Is there little 4+ cover terrain pieces in the area you play?
Do you need a unit to escort a MoT Lord/Sorcerer?
Do people in your area spam Plasma/other AP2 weapons?

If the answer is "yes" to any of the above, then the Mark of Tzeentch could be worth considering. If it's "yes" to 3-4 of them, then I'd definitely be taking it on some Terminators (if you run any Terminators).

So the Mark of Tzeentch is a bit more specialised and a far less safe option than a Mark of Nurgle, but it does have its perks in certain places and is definitely worth considering.

Both

Mark of Slaanesh

"Both" doesn't just apply to Mark uses here...

The Mark of Slaanesh is, in my opinion, the best Mark overall in the book. The Icon of Excess does play a role in this, but we'll get to Icons in just a moment.

With a +1 Initiative bonus, the Mark of Slaanesh applies only to combat, but is still something worth considering on certain shooty units as well for the Initiative alone.

To understand how +1 Initiative is a fairly potent offensive tool, we must first work out how it's good defensively.

In essence, the Mark of Slaanesh prevents you from taking casualties in the same way the Mark of Nurgle does: by reducing the number of saves you actually have to take. It does this by allowing you to strike before most opponents, which allows you to kill a couple of models in combat before those models even have a chance to strike which therefore means that there are less attacks coming back at you, less attacks hitting, less attacks wounding, less saves you have to take and ultimately less casualties caused to your unit.

But here's where it gets good...

Unlike the Mark of Nurgle which has absolutely no benefits in combat against something like a Dreadnought, the Mark of Slaanesh allows you to hit it with a whole bunch of Krak Grenades before it can hit you, which means that you can potentially knock off the last of its Hull Points before it turns your unit to mush with its S10 AP2 attacks.

So how does it work offensively?

Well, it's mostly in the way it allows you to play your models: more aggresively. Normally your standard CSM wouldn't be able to take on certain units in combat, but because of their improved Initiative they can plow right into the enemy because of the significantly reduced fear of taking too any casualties and losing combat. Furthermore, the unit can only really be defensive if they have some offensive hitting power, otehrwise everything just goes downhill.

But it's also a great offensive stat against the likes of Eldar and Dark Eldar who might otherwise use their Initiative in the same way you'd use yours: to cause casualties before the enemy can strike and thus take less in return. By having a Mark of Slaanesh you now have an offensive bonus against their Initiative 5 units in that you remove their defensive bonus from Initiative, ultimately leaving them with almost no defense and allowing you to strike with all of your force.

The only real downfall of the Mark of Slaanesh is that it only works in combat, but then again, combat is ultimately inevitable in some situations.

Units that work well with a Mark of Slaanesh are any combat-oriented unit, as well as any short-ranged shooting unit (Chaos Space Marines with Plasma Guns for example) because they're generally operating in a 12" distance from the enemy and will likely get charged.

The important thing to remember is that the more damage your unit can cause in close combat, the better it will be defensively as well. Maximise the damage you do, minimise the damage you take.

With that out of the way, it's time for...

...

*drumroll*

...

Icons

Icon of Wrath (Mark of Khorne)

Gives you Furious Charge and rerolls to your charge range. Absolutely fantastic in my opinion. It really just makes the unit better at its role, no more need be said.

Icon of Despair (Mark of Nurgle)

This is probably the worst Icon of the lot. It's cheap, sure, but with the amount of Fearless/ATSKNF/Leadership 10 around it'll hardly have much of an effect ever. However, when and if it does work, it will be brutal to the unit on the receiving end, so it's not too bad if you have a spare few points lying around.

Icon of Flame (Mark of Tzeentch)

A reasonable Icon for a shooty unit and I've seen some people take Mark of Tzeentch just for the Soul Blaze, but I don't think it's that great. It has a place on a unit of shooty Terminators or some Obliterators, but otherwise won't see much play because most of the units it'd be good on aren't that great with a Mark of Tzeentch in the first place.

Icon of Excess (Mark of Slaanesh)

Throw this on the unit and suddenly you've got one of the best defensive kits in our book, beaten out only by Plague Marines themselves. Suddenly your units can whether a storm from a distance and beat face in combat. The best Icon in the codex.

Thoughts? Comments?

Noise Marines vs Thousand Sons

2012-12-10T02:59:00.001-08:00

Yet another topic that's debated (arguably less than previous topics, I will admit) is whether Noise Marines or Thousand Sons are superior as a purely shooty troops choice. So let's get into it!

Trigonometric!

Here are the unit builds:
10 Noise Marines - 8 Sonic Blasters, Blastmaster, Icon of Excess - 264pts.
10 Thousand Sons - 265pts.

With only a one point difference, you'd better hope that they're equally worth taking...

First of all, note that I will always assume the Noise Marines are 13"-24" away and that they haven't moved. The Thousand Sons are within 24". Blastmaster, Tzeentch's Firestorm and Doombolt will all be given 3 hits.

Furthermore, Cover is irrelevant against Noise Marines but will be taken into account against the Thousand Sons.

Let's see how they do against some:

MEq

Wounds caused by Psychic Powers
Tzeentch's Firestorm: 3 hits, S5 on average (benefit of the doubt), 2 wounds, 0.666... dead. If that model dies average 2 S3 AP- hits on the unit, 0.666... wounds, 0.222... dead for a total of 0.888... dead if the first hits caused a casualty.

Doombolt: 3 hits, 2.5 wounds, 2.5 dead if no cover, 1.666... if in 5+ cover and 1.25 dead if in 4+ cover.

Noise Marines
25 S4 shots, 16.666... hits, 8.333... wounds, 2.777... unsaved wounds. Blastmaster gets 3 hits, 2.5 wounds, 2.5 dead Marines for a total of 5.2777... dead.

Thousand Sons
Out of cover:
Outside of Rapid Fire range: 9 S4 shots, 6 hits, 3 wounds. 3.666... to 3.888... dead with Tzeentch's Firestorm, 5.5 with Doombolt.

Inside Rapid-fire range: 18 S4 shots, 12 hits, 6 wounds. 6.666... to 6.888... dead with Tzeentch's Firestorm, 8.5 with Doombolt.

In 5+ cover:
Outside of Rapid Fire range: 9 S4 shots, 6 hits, 3 wounds, 2 unsaved wounds. 2.666... to 2.888... dead with Tzeentch's Firestorm, 3.666... dead with Doombolt.

Inside Rapid Fire range: 18 S4 shots, 12 hits, 6 wounds, 4 unsaved wounds. 4.666... to 4.888... dead with Tzeentch's Firestorm, 5.666... dead with Doombolt.

In 4+ cover:
Outside of Rapid Fire range: 9 S4 shots, 6 hits, 3 wounds, 1.5 unsaved wounds. 2.1666... to 2.3888... dead with Tzeentch's Firestorm, 2.75 dead with Doombolt.

Inside Rapid Fire range: 18 S4 shots, 12 hits, 6 wounds, 3 unsaved wounds. 3.666... to 3.888... dead with Tzeentch's Firestorm, 4.25 dead with Doombolt.

So against MEq I've got to say that the Noise Marines are the better option because, let's face it, no opponent in their right mind is going to leave a squad out in the open for you unit of AP3 Bolter wielding dudes to shoot, so we can pretty much ignore that part of the math, and as soon as the enemy enters even the slightest bit of cover the Noise Marines instantly win out through raw fire power.

It looks like it's just downhill for the Thousand Sons from here, but let's just see how bad it gets...

TEq
Wounds caused by Psychic Powers
Tzeentch's Firestorm: 3 hits, S5 on average (benefit of the doubt), 2 wounds, 0.333... dead. If that model dies average 2 S3 AP- hits on the unit, 0.666... wounds, 0.111... dead for a total of 0.444... dead if the first hits caused a casualty.

Doombolt: 3 hits, 2.5 wounds, 1.666... dead with no cover or 5+ cover and 1.25 dead if in 4+ cover, 0.8333... dead if they have a Storm Shield.

Noise Marines
25 S4 shots, 16.666... hits, 8.333... wounds, 1.3888... unsaved wounds. Blastmaster gets 3 hits, 2.5 wounds, 0.41666... unsaved wounds for a total of 1.80555... dead.

Thousand Sons
Out of cover:

Outside of Rapid Fire range: 9 S4 shots, 6 hits, 3 wounds, 0.5 unsaved wounds. 0.8333... to 0.9444... dead with Tzeentch's Firestorm, 2.1666..., 1.75 or 1.333... dead with Doombolt.

Inside Rapid-fire range: 18 S4 shots, 12 hits, 6 wounds, 1 unsaved wound. 1.333... to 1.444... dead with Tzeentch's Firestorm, 2.666..., 2.25 or 1.8333... with Doombolt.

QEq
Wounds caused by Psychic Powers
Tzeentch's Firestorm: 3 hits, S5 on average (benefit of the doubt), 2.5 wounds, 1.666... dead. If 1 model dies average 2 S3 AP- hits on the unit, 1 wound, 0.666... dead for a total of 2.333... dead if the first hits caused a casualty. If 2 models died, average 4 S3 AP- hits, 2 wounds, 1.222... dead for a total of 3.888... if the first hits caused 2 wounds.

Doombolt: 3 hits, 2.5 dead if no cover, 1.666... if in 5+ cover and 1.25 dead if in 4+ cover.

Noise Marines
25 S4 shots, 16.666... hits, 11.111... dead. Blastmaster gets 3 hits, 2.5 wounds, 2.5 dead for a total of 13.6111... dead.

Thousand Sons
Out of cover:

Outside of Rapid Fire range: 9 S4 shots, 6 hits, 4 wounds. 5.666..., 6.333... or 7.888... dead with Tzeentch's Firestorm, 6.5 with Doombolt.

Inside Rapid-fire range: 18 S4 shots, 12 hits, 8 wounds. 9.666..., 10.333... or 11.888... dead with Tzeentch's Firestorm, 10.5 with Doombolt.

In 5+ cover:
Outside of Rapid Fire range: 9 S4 shots, 6 hits, 4 wounds, 2.666... unsaved wounds. 4.333..., 5 or 6.555... dead with Tzeentch's Firestorm, 4.333... dead with Doombolt.

Inside Rapid Fire range: 18 S4 shots, 12 hits, 8 wounds, 5.333... unsaved wounds. 7, 7.666... or 9.222... dead with Tzeentch's Firestorm, 7 dead with Doombolt.

In 4+ cover:
Outside of Rapid Fire range: 9 S4 shots, 6 hits, 4 wounds, 2 unsaved wounds. 3.666..., 4.333 or 5.888... dead with Tzeentch's Firestorm, 3.25 dead with Doombolt.

Inside Rapid Fire range: 18 S4 shots, 12 hits, 8 wounds, 4 unsaved wounds. 5.666..., 6.333... or 7.888... dead with Tzeentch's Firestorm, 5.25 dead with Doombolt.

There you have it. Noise Marines annihilate Thousand Sons when it comes to versing TEq and GEq. I didn't bother with T3/4+ saves because the results would be similar to MEq in that 1k Sons ignore armour while Noise Marines don't, whereas against TEq neither ignores armour and against GEq both do.

Also, there are a few notes that I'd like to make on their game-play that you cannot work out with math:

Noise Marines can do their maximum amount of damage at least a turn earlier than Thousand Sons because they can achieve this at 24" while Thousand Sons need to be within 12" to really be effective
As a result of this Noise Marines are far less likely to get assaulted earlier and can therefore shoot for longer, increasing the damage they'll do over the course of a game even further, making them even better
When being shot back at the Noise Marines are more survivable thanks to a combination of armour/cover save and Feel no Pain (which do a better job than a 4++ save if they're getting shot at by AP3 or better), so Noise Marines are more survivable in fire fights as well
In combat Noise Marines strike at Initiative 5 which allows them to kill more models before the enemy has a chance to strike, reducing the number of wounds actually caused on the Noise Marines, end then they have armour and FnP to get them throu

Why 'Fluff' is Important in Warhammer 40k

2012-12-03T23:51:00.001-08:00

There are a bunch of WAAC gamer douchebags that always winge about how Games Workshop restricted the allies of the armies and didn't just let everyone ally with everyone (yes, I'm looking at you YTTH fanbois). This kind of retarded, pompus "look at how hipst@ i am, i don't even care about the fluff" pisses me off to no end.

Why'd they even bother writing about this guy?

First I'd just like to say that I'm not completely against WAAC gamers nor do I think that everyone should make their lists fluffy and whatnot, just that anyone that completely disregards the lore is a complete and utter moron.

So why is it so important?

Well, it's pretty fucking interesting for starters. I will admit that there's some pretty boring lore here and there, but for the most part it's fantastic.

But the major point I think is that there would be no 40k without it and there wouldn't be a game for wankers like all the YTTH fanbois to play in the first place. If there was no fluff/lore, there would be no Space Marines or Tau, no Orks or Tyranids. Instead you would have Army 1, Army 2, Army 3 and so on, each with different point costs and stats. And while we're at it, why bother with different models or terrain? Instead the armies all have the same models, but Army 1 is blue and Army 2 is red! And instead of rules for buildings, it's rules for cardboard boxes and books. The game can be called "Sci-Fi Miniature Tabletop Game". Sounds fucking great!

Seriously though, who would buy something like that? No one, that's who. And that means that Games Workshop goes out of business and there's no 40k for YTTHFB to bitch about.

Aside from the fact that the lore is an integral part of the hobby, there are a few other benefits it has. First, it can help inspire one to make their army look cool based on stories, it gets people to buy other armies because they like their lore (thus making GW more money) and it makes your army far more interesting and adds a lot of character to it on the tabletop, which ultimately enhances the gaming experience.

But why should the fluff play a part in how the rules are written (e.g. limiting the armies an army can ally with)?

Because fuck you, that's why.

On a slightly more serious note, it's because it breaks the game. Every tournament would consist of the same two armies allied to each other because it's the most broken combo available, and anyone not playing these two armies gets destroyed in every game they have, don't enjoy it at all and never go to a tournament again. It takes all the fun out of the game and removes any serious thought that needs to be given to writing a list or who to ally with.

People who legitimately ask this question are the people that ruin this hobby for other people, the kind that take the fun out of everything and paint their armies to the standard three colour minimum so they can score some extra points in tournaments. If you're one of these people, go set your three-colour army on fire and choke on the ashes.

Thoughts? Comments?

Skaven Sabotaged at Local Tournament!

2012-11-25T17:59:00.000-08:00

Someone loaded my dice, I swear!

...

Seriously though, I finally got to compete in my first tournament with my Skaven. It was a great day. Ten players went along, payed $10 each and got three games with first and second place splitting the money in Games Workshop vouchers.

It was played at 1500 points, and there was a few different armies around. There was, however, a good 3 or 4 Warriors of Chaos armies. One of them was played by a guy who had only just started Fantasy about a week earlier, but he still did surprisingly well considering his experience. He placed 4th overall with a completely unpainted army.

Anyway, from what I could gather, you could score a maximum of 30 points for painting, something like 15 points for sportsmanship and... Uh... Well I honestly don't know about the games. I know that winning is good though, and that's what counts, right?

Let's get down to it. Here's the army list I brought along:
Lords - 240pts.
Grey Seer - 240pts.

Heroes - 169pts.
Warlock Engineer - Doomrocket - 45pts.
Chieftain - BSB, Storm Banner, Great Weapon - 124pts.

Core - 384pts.
20 Clanrats - Shields, Full Command - 110pts.
20 Clanrats - Shields, Full Command - 110pts.
40 Skavenslaves - Musician - 82pts.
40 Skavenslaves - Musician - 82pts.

Special - 407pts.
32 Plague Monks - Full Command, Plague Banner - 279pts.
8 Plague Censer Bearers - 128pts.

Rare - 300pts.
Doomwheel - 150pts.
Doomwheel - 150pts.

TOTAL - 1500pts.

So there were some issues with it that only really became apparent after playing in a tournament setting like this against a number of army lists that varied from what I'd previously faced, but we'll get into that more at the end. Unfortunately the army type didn't vary a whole bunch, as you might expect in a 3 game tournament, but I ended up facing Dwarfs, Warriors of Chaos and Warriors of Chaos again. Fortunately the WoC armies were pretty different from each other, so it's not such an issue.

Game 1: Skaven vs Dwarfs
Game one was a tough one for me honestly. I've only ever faced Dwarfs once with this specific army list and won that, although I've faced them plenty of other times at different points and whatnot and lost all of them. In short, I hate Dwarfs.

The game was Battleline. His army consisted of an Organ Gun, a Grudge Thrower, a Cannon, 40 Long Beards with Great Weapons joined by a Thane and another smaller unit of Warriors with Great Weapons joined by a Rune Priest.

Apologies in advance for my not-completely-painted army. I can't speak for everyone else, but as far as I can see they're trying!

Dwarf deployment.

Skaven deployment.

Unfortunately my significantly larger amount of guys and the initial placement of some Slaves seriously screwed over my deployment. I couldn't react properly and it was really going to be a tremendous effort for me to make it to him. I think a better deployment would've helped me far more in this game, but I really don't think I could do too much considering the size and number of my units.

Dwarfs got first turn.

The first couple of turns went as pretty much anyone could predict: I moved forward and he sat back and shot me. His Cannon smashed my Doomwheel and his Grudge Thrower did a number on my units. The Storm Banner didn't stop anything and then ended on my first turn. My magic also did nothing at all ever all game, so I won't even bother mentioning it anymore.

By the end of turn two we had this:

Notice the zero Dwarf casulties...

From there it was pretty downhill. There's no breaking those Warrior units and with one unit of Slaves gone, the other way too far away to do anything and a Doomwheel that would die next turn, leaving me with no real hard-hitting units, there wasn't a whole lot I could do. The Plague Monks even failed a 10" charge on the War Machines by an inch.

The rest of my army was pretty much just shot to bits, my Grey Seer and his Clanrats fled and failed their leadership 7 rally test twice to run off the table and the BSB's unit was massacred by the Long Beards.

Luckily my opponent was a decent guy though, but apparently has some reputation, seeing as when I told one of the other players that I lost he was all like "What, how did... Oh, you were facing Peter B."

I still need to work out how to beat those damn Dwarfs...

Game 2: Skaven vs Warriors of Chaos
This was the game against the new guy, and arguably the most enjoyable game I had all day. Unfortunately it was Dawn Attack, so deployment ended up getting seriously spastic...

His army was a unit of Mark of Tzeentch Shield Warriors, Mark of Khorne Shield Warriors (might have been Chosen?) and a unit of the new Juggernought-riding-guys, an Exalted Champion on a Juggernought and Festus with the Tzeentch Warriors.

He ended up having to deploy the Juggers and Khorne Warriors in the middle and the Tzeentch Warriors on his right flank.

Warriors of Chaos deployment.

As you can see, my deployment was just a little but more spastic with all my units. From left to right we've got a unit of Slaves on my left flank (the guy out the front is where they're actually meant to be, but they'd have fallen over if I placed them that far forward on the hill), both Doomwheels had to be deployed in the middle (they were also the last things placed, leaving them with very little room) with the Grey Seer and Clanrats just behind them, followed by the other Slaves, Plague Censer Bearers and then the Plague Monks, Clanrats and BSB on the right flank.

My apologies for the blurry picture, I had to hold the camera above my head to get the shot.

Skaven deployment

We both just moved forward with my Doomwheels moving away from each other so I didn't lose them to their own Zzzap!'s and the Slaves moving to tarpit some Warriors. I Dreaded 13th'd the unit of Khorne Warriors and then finished them off with a Doomwheel.

I did have a few unfortunate accidents though. Mainly the Doomrocket. I threw four dice at it, and ended up with three 1's, followed by another 1 on the Misfire chart. The result was, well, lots of dead Slaves. Meanwhile the other Slave unit failed their leadership 10 test, were out of range of my BSB who was on the other side of the board and exploded. The Doomwheel involved in that fight also fled, but luckily it was towards my opponents own table edge. I also tried to charge the Juggers with both my Plague Monks and Plague Censer Bearers. It would've gone a lot better if my Monks had made it so that my Censer Bearers actually lived to cause some damage, but alas the Monks moved up 3" while the Censer Bearers charged headlong into the beasts of Khorne...

On my second attempt to cast the Dreaded 13th I had Vorrik eat all 3 of his Warpstone Tokens, and rolled two ones with them as well as failing my attempt to cast, so he was down to one wound :sadface:

His Juggers overran into and then thoroughly mutilated my Plague Monks.

By the end of turn 2 we had this:

The Warriors in the top left are dead.

After this he did some wheeling with the Juggers and Warriors, I tried to do some manoeuvring with my Clanrats to get out of the path of those Knights-on-steroids. I charged the Warriors with my remaining Slaves as well as both of my Doomwheels. Unfortunately this didn't go quite as I was expecting, but oh well...

I honestly thought I had this one...

After that horrid combat ended, the Juggers massacred my BSB and co. and then my Grey Seer miscast Death Frenzy on 4 dice, rolled a 4 on the miscast table and then died horribly, taking 11 Clanrats with him and causing them to lose their shit and bail.

That's pretty much that. Those Khornate Super Knights are pretty insane.

Game 3: Skaven vs Warriors of Chaos (again)
The last game was that diagonal deployment one (I honestly have no idea what it's called) where you have to roll a die for every unit to see if it goes into reserves or not. My opponent deployed first and didn't have any issues with the reserves. I also wasn't having any troubles. That is, until I rolled for my Grey Seer...

His army consisted of 2 units of Warhounds, 2-3 WoC units, a unit of Knights, 2 Sorcerers and a couple of Spawn.

Seriously, of all models, not having my Lord on the table was slightly annoying, but what can you do?

Deployment.

My opponent decided to give me first turn. The Doomwheels killed both the Spawn and I moved everything else up in a way that would hopefully prevent him from making any charges I didn't want, i.e. I placed my Slaves about an inch or two from his Knights and my Plague Monks about the same distance from the Warhounds who were shielding a small unit of Warriors. I also totally forgot to fire my Doomrocket, even though that was exactly why I left that unit of Slaves so far back.

He cast Treason of Tzeentch on my Censer Bearers, which hurt a bit, but it wasn't too bad. The Knights caused my Slaves to explode, but then my Doomwheel pwned the Knights.

My other Doomwheel took on some Warriors and another unit of Hounds by itself for a turn or two before the Censer Bearers could make it. They then quickly finished the Hounds and caused the Warriors to flee, who then rallied and then turned back around, only to get flattened again and chased off the table. My Grey Seer also entered the field turn two, but didn't do a whole lot.

Plague Censer Bearers to the rescue!

His Khorne Warriors then did a number on my Plague Monks, but were positioned right near everything else in my army. He conceded at that point, as my Doomwheels were poised to cause serious damage and my Grey Seer had a couple of Warpstone Tokens to use for a Dreaded 13th.

The Plague Monks honestly did nothing all tournament.

So the last game was a victory to Skaven! Huzzah!
8th place overall out of 10, although it would've been 4th if my army was painted...

I'm not complaining though, seeing as it was my first Fantasy tournament. I'm just disappointed in myself for not getting off my ass and painting my army completely.

Anyway, I've been thinking about what went wrong, and there are a few things. First of all, the dice didn't entirely go my way, and Skaven are a very random army that rely on that a bit more than other armies on luck, however I'm not going to blame my losses on luck alone. If I were good enough I should've been able to play my way out of it.

The other issue was my inability to deal with enemies from a distance or get to them fast enough, which meant that Dwarfs were always going to cave my head in and taking on those Juggers was going to be a very difficult feat.

Deployment wasn't exactly fantastic, although in the first two games I don't really know how I could've changed that a whole lot, especially in the second game. I'll just have to work on that I guess.

Last of all, the Plague Monks take a huge chunk of points out of my army and their efforts really were quite pathetic. They're good for pushing a Plague Furnace (which hit like nothing else), but unless I'm taking a Furnace I don't think I'm going to bother with the Monks anymore.

So what to do? Well, I'm going to be trying out taking 2 Warp Lightning Cannons instead of 2 Doomwheels (or maybe even just one Doomwheel and the 2 Cannons...? We'll see) and I'm going to try pretty hard to get myself some Gutter Runners just to deal with those Dwarfs.

Some other things I've been contemplating are taking another Engineer at Level 2 with a Dispel Scroll, dropping the Grey Seer and taking my Warlord on Rat Ogre Bonebreaker with a 2+ rerollable save that causes S4 hits on the unit that causes the wound for every save passed. I used to play with him before I had my Grey Seer, and he was tremendous fun. Whether I actually use him in my next tournament or not is to be seen, but I'm definitely going to start using him again in some friendly games and see how he works out!

Does anyone else have any ideas? I was even thinking about a unit of Rat Ogres, or even just breaking out the Plague Furnace...

Lightning Claw vs Power Sword

2012-11-17T20:50:00.000-08:00

There's been endless debate since the release of the new Chaos Space Marines codex on whether one should take a Lightning Claw or Power Sword on their Aspiring Champions.

Algebraic!

Now, first of all, why not any of the other Power Weapons? Well, the Power Axe may be AP2, but it strikes at Initiative 1, and on a guy who must issue Challenges, that's a very, very bad idea because he'll often be dead before he gets to strike. A Power Lance is really not that great for Chaos Space Marines because it only works on the charge, and you won't always be getting the charge. Plus, if you don't win in the first round, its effectiveness drops by a load. The last one is the Power Maul. Honestly, the Power Maul isn't all that bad, but I personally don't think it's such a great option on your Aspiring Champions because you won't be ignoring armour most of the time, so you'll probably die and your opponent won't.

That all said, Axes and Mauls are both great choices on Terminators in my opinion, but for now we're just focusing on your basic squad leader, whether he's in a Raptor squad, Chaos Space Marine squad, Noise Marine squad or whatever.

So, let's get down to the math!

We're going to assume your basic champ, so Initiative 4, WS4, 2 attacks and weapon + Pistol against a standard Space Marine opponent (since, let's face it, these are the most common opponents). We're also assuming you got the charge.

Lightning Claw
3 attacks, 1.5 hits, 0.75 wounds before re-rolls, another 0.375 after the re-rolls, coming to a total of 1.125 wounds at AP3, so a dead enemy Sergeant.

Power Sword
4 attacks, 2 hits, 1 wound, so one dead Sergeant.

Now the difference may seem pretty miniscule, but when it comes down to it, the Lightning Claw is far more reliable and will fairly consistently net you at least one wound, while the Power Sword, which may give you more chances to cause wounds, doesn't give you those re-rolls, so if you fail you're pretty much screwed.

But, just to make sure, let's see what happens against Terminators, T3 and T5 opponents.

Terminators
Lightning Claw
3 attacks, 1.5 hits, 1.125 total wounds, coming to 0.1875 dead Terminators.

Power Sword
4 attacks, 2 hits, 1 wound, 0.1666... dead Terminators.

T3 Opponents (e.g. Eldar Exarch)
Lightning Claw
3 attacks, 1.5 hits, 1 wound before re-rolls, 0.333... with re-rolls, coming to 1.333... dead T3 unit champions.

Power Sword
4 attacks, 2 hits, 1.333... unsaved wounds.

T5 Opponents (e.g. Plague Champion)
Lightning Claw
3 attacks, 1.5 hits, 0.5 wounds before re-rolls, 0.333... with re-rolls, coming to 0.8333... dead T5 opponents.

Power Sword
4 attacks, 2 hits, 0.666... wounds caused.

Alright, so it's pretty clear the Lightning Claw is the superior offensive weapon, but since making this post it was brought to my attention by Zeruel13 over in this thread on MiniWarGaming that, as a defensive weapon, the Power Sword is actually better.

Here's a copy/paste of the math Zeruel provided:
Against MEQ (WS4/T4)Lightning Claw (with charge bonus) - 1.13 wounds caused (0.18 unsaved vs 2+ armour)
Lightning Claw (without charge bonus) - 0.75 wounds caused (0.12 unsaved vs 2+ armour)

Power Sword (with charge bonus) - 1 wound caused (.16 unsaved vs 2+ armour)
Power Sword (without charge bonus) - 0.75 wounds caused (0.12 unsaved vs 2+ armour)

Power Maul (with charge bonus) - 1.66 wounds caused (0.55 unsaved vs 3+ or 0.27 unsaved vs 2+ armour)
Power Maul (without charge bonus) - 1.25 wounds caused (0.41 unsaved vs 3+ or 0.2 unsaved vs 2+ armour)

Against GEQ (WS3/T3)Lightning Claw (with charge bonus) - 1.79 wounds caused
Lightning Claw (without charge bonus) - 1.19 wounds caused

Power Sword (with charge bonus) - 1.79 wounds caused
Power Sword (without charge bonus) - 1.34 wounds caused

Power Maul (with charge bonus) - 2.22 wounds caused
Power Maul (without charge bonus) - 1.67 wounds caused

Against EEQ (WS4/T3)Lightning Claw (with charge bonus) - 1.34 wounds caused
Lightning Claw (without charge bonus) - 0.89 wounds caused

Power Sword (with charge bonus) - 1.34 wounds caused
Power Sword (without charge bonus) - 1.05 wounds caused

Power Maul (with charge bonus) - 1.66 wounds caused
Power Maul (without charge bonus) - 1.25 wounds caused

Against Biker MEQ (WS4/T5)Lightning Claw (with charge bonus) - 0.83 wounds caused
Lightning Claw (without charge bonus) - 0.55 wounds caused

Power Sword (with charge bonus) - 0.66 wound caused
Power Sword (without charge bonus) - 0.5 wounds caused

Power Maul (with charge bonus) - 1.34 wounds caused (0.44 unsaved vs 3+)
Power Maul (without charge bonus) - 1 wound caused (0.33 unsaved vs 3+)

He's included the Power Maul as well, because Zeruel believes it's an equally viable option. Personally I disagree, but I guess that's a matter of opinion and what you face.

With Zeruel's information taken into account, I'll be taking Lightning Claws every time on units made for the charge (CCW Chaos Space Marines, Berzerkers, Raptors) while on units that are meant to be shooting a little more up close (anything with a Plasma Gun) then the Power Weapon is definitely going to be my weapon of choice. I still don't think I'll take either on my Noise Marines though, because I'd be taking the Doom Siren first and another 15 points on top of that is just too much for a shooty unit, especially one sitting back 24".
But, like, that's just my opinion man.

Which one are you going to take?